Locking device



Nov. 25, 1941.

F. ADAM LOCKING DEVICE Original Filed March 25, 1959 Inve nTor':

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of which positions the door is locked.

Patented Nov. 25, 1941 UNITED STATES e LOCKING DEVICE FolgerAdam,`Joliet, Ill. n

Original application March 25, 1939, Serial No.

Divided and this application January 2,1940, serial No. 312,085

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in locking devices, especiallyfor locking swinging or sliding doors Aor the like. The locking devicesherein disclosed are especially intended for the locking and control ofthe doors of cells or coniinement or treatment rooms of suchinstitutions as jails, houses of correction, etc., and the constructionsherein disclosed have been designed especially to meet the conditions ofuse and operation imposed by such installations and I shall describecertain of the operations of the locking devices in such use; but in sodoing I wish it understood that I do not intend to thereby limit thescope of the invention, except as I may do so in the claims.

The locking devices herein disclosed are intended for installationswherein several locking and unlocking operations are possible. Thearrangements are also such that the lock bolt may be moved into eitherof two positions, in either In the first of these two positions the boltmoves to a snap lock position, and in the other of these two positionsthe bolt moves to a position such that the door cannot be snapped shut,and such that the deadlocking operation may be performed. The bolt maybe moved into these two positions, or withdrawn to unlock the door bykey operations performed at the lock position.

Such key operations require the rotation" of the key and cylinder forone complete rotation in the locking direction (to bring' the bolt tothe deadlocked position), or a quarter turn in the locking directiontounlock the bolt by key operation, and are therefore of an unusualnature.

One feature of the present invention relates to the provision of a keyoperated lock of such construction that the `bolt thereof normallystands in the snap locked position and may be movedby key rotation ormovement into a further projected locking position; 'and whichconstruction is such that the lock bolt may be withdrawn into unlockedposition by a backwa'rd'turn of the key and cylinder. In connection withthe foregoing features I have provided an improved Y form of pintumblerarrangement for the cylinder, which pin tumbler constructionserves to lock the cylinder against rotation until theproper orauthorized key has been inserted into the key opening. Pin tumbler lockshave been heretofore known, but they were of a construction in which thecylinder for the key was carried within an enclosing or encirclingsleeve, so that the pins of the key cylinder could not slip or timesconned by said sleeve. Due to the fact that I nd it necessary to makeprovision vfor making one complete rotation of the key cylinder in orderto perform certainof the operations of the lock bolt, and lthefurther-fact that certain bolt operations are controlled by the keycylinder by means of lever tumblers itis not feasible to use such sleeveconstruction of the prior art, and I have therefore found it desirableto make special provision for retaining the pins in the 4key cylinderwhen thelatter is rotated away from the position of the pin tumblerblock'during the several key cylinder operations. y I

It is therefore an object ofl the invention to provide means forretainingthe pins in the key cylinder independently of any surroundingsleeve, and independently of the companion tumbler block, so that thecylinder pins are retainedY within the key cylinder at all times, andconstitute a self-contained unit therewith. i In connection with the pintumbler arrangement, wherein the cylinder pins co-operate with thetumbler pins of the pin tumbler block for unlocking purposes, it is afurther feature. of the invention to provide an arrangement such thatproper co-operation between these sets ofpins will be ensured at alltimes, and regardless of slight inaccuracies of manufacture or assembly.When they key is inserted into the key 'slotor opening the serrations oropenings on thevback edge of the key serve to project the cylinder pinsoutwardly against ltheir respective tumbler pins carried in the pintumbler block, so as toalign the tumbler pins and allow the key cylinderto be rotated. Heretofore it has been customary to provide contactingsurfaces between the key cylinder and the companion face of the tumblerpin block, and to carry the pinrholes of the keycylinder and of the pintumbler block to suchsur.- faces; and asa result of this arrangement ithas been heretofore necessary to secure exact alignment of the holes ofthe key cylinder and of the pin tumbler block in order to secure properfunctioning of the pins. In case of non-alignment of these 'pin holesthe tumbler pins could not enter intoy the pin holes of the keycylindervvhen` the key was withdrawn, and consequently no pin lockingaction would occur.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide companionslots or enlarged portions on the companion surfaces-of the key cylinderand the pin tumbler block, so that even in case of misalignment of thekey cylinder with respect to the pinV tumbler block, or vice versa,

drop out from the key cylinder, but were at all 55 or in case of slightinaccuracies of placement of arrows;

the key cylinder lengthwise with respect to the pin tumbler block, thepin tumblers may nevertheless be projected into the companion slot ofthe key cylinder and perform locking function to prevent rotation of thekey cylinder until a proper key is inserted thereinto.

The foregoing feature is of further importance in connection with theconstruction herein disclosed wherein the key cylinder is carried at oneend in the lock case, and at its other end in the removable cover plateof the lock case, and wherein the pin tumbler block is carried by thecover plate. In such construction it follows that during manufacture andassembly of the parts slight inaccuracies will have to be provided forand compensated for, and the arrangement or feature above referred tomakes provision for such compensation.

A further feature of the invention relates to the forms of thecontacting ends of the pins in the key cylinder and in the pin tumblerblock. Heretofore it has been customary to form these contacting ends ofa rounded form, rounded around the pin axis, so that theoretically eachkey cylinder pin and the companion tumbler pin could make only a singlepoint of contact together. As a result the pin ends have been found towear rapidly, and such wear would in time result in improperfunctioning'since the cylinder pin must be projected exactly the properdistance to cause unlocking of the tumbler pin when the key is insertedinto the cylinder. My improvement inl respect to this feature consistsin the provision of pins having ends which are formed on flattened orstraight line surfaces so that contact of each pin of the key cylinderwith the companion pin of the pin tumbler block may occur anywhereacross the entire width of the pin, and on a surface of contact asdistinguished from a point of contact, as heretofore. I also providecylindrical end surfaces on the inner ends ofthe key pins, said surfacesextending across the direction of movement of the key during insertionor withdrawal of the key from its slot, thus improving the action, andalso providing a line of contact between each pin and the key instead ofa single point of contact as heretofore. Y

In order to prevent the pins from turning on their axes I make use ofthe retaining pins which engage the pins of the key cylinder andlikewise the retaining pins which engage the pin tumbler block (whenused), to not only retain the cylinder pins and the tumbler pins inplace within the cylinder and the pin tumbler block, respectively, butalso to retain said pins against rotation, so

. that the cylindrical contacting ends of the key pins will be retainedin proper positions at all times with respect to the direction of keyinsertion or withdrawal.

lwhich consists in the features of construction and combinations ofparts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section through a locking device embodyingthe features of my present invention, being a section on the line I l ofFigure 2, looking in the direction of the -Figure 2 shows a section onthe line 2 2 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows,showing the relationship between the key cylinder, the cylinder pins andthe tumbler pins, and the tumbler levers;

Figure 3 shows an enlarged detail section through the cylinder and theadjacent tumbler block, showing the relationship between the key, thekey pins, the pin tumblers, and the retaining pins; taken on the line 33 of Figure 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 shows a section on the line 4 of Figure 3, looking in thedirection of the arrow, and on still further enlarged scale; and itshows the manner in which the retaining pins co-operate with the keypins;

Figure 5 shows a cross-section on the line 5 5 of Figure 4, looking inthe direction of the arrows; and

Figure 6 shows a side face view of one of the key pins removed from thecylinder block, and it shows the chisel-like end edge which is engagedby the serrations of the inserted key.

rihis application is a division of my co-pending application forImprovements in locking devices, Serial No. 264,087, led March 25, 1939.

The lock of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral24. It includes the case or housing 25. 'Ihe lock bolt 26 is slidinglymounted in this case, and has a beveled end portion for snap engagementwith the co-operating socket (not shown), in the usual manner. Normallythe bolt is projected to the position shown by the line 21, for snaplocking purposes, and in such projected position its beveled end portioncan slide against the co-operating socket so as to allow the door to besnapped shut. The bolt may be projected to a further or deadlockedposition shown by the line 28. A suitable spring serves to urge the boltto its extended position, either 21 or 28 as the case may be.

A key cylinder 35 extends across the lock case, and nds bearing in thefloor of the case and in the case cover 3l (see Figure 1) This keycylinder has a wing (not shown) which engages in a suitable recess inthe bolt in the usual manner, and the bolt has notches in which suchengagement occurs. With the bolt in the normal pro- `iected position (tothe line 21), rotation of the key cylinder and its wing counterclockwisesubstantially one quarter turn will withdraw the bolt to the unlockedposition against the spring, and allow the door to be opened. On thecontrary, rotation of the key cylinder and its wing in the clockwisedirection one turn will permit the bolt to be projected to the positionof the line 28 (assuming that the gates of the tumblers have been placedin proper alignment) The case or cover also carries the pin 35 on whichthe lever tumblers such as 36 are pivoted, each such lever tumblerhaving a spring 31 which normally urges it to the raised position shownin Figure 2. The bolt carries the lug 38 which can ride back and forththrough the gates 39 of the lever tumblers, when said tumblers areproperly aligned for that purpose. The cover also carries a pin tumblerblock which co-operates with key pins of the key cylinder in the mannerto be presently explained.

It will now be seen that by counterclockwise rotation of the keycylinder the bolt may be withdrawn to the unlocked position (assumingthat the bolt was in the normal or snap locked position defined by theline 21) and without the need of the lug 38 passing through the gates;but when it is desired to throw the bolt out to the deadlocked positiondened by the line 28, or to withdraw the bolt from said deadlockedposition,

it is necessaryto throw the lever tumblers down to align their gateswith the lug 38 so that said lug mayA pass through the gates, and lie tothe opposite side of the lingers of the lever tumblers. Then when saidlever tumblers are allowed to rise said fingers will stand at theinterfering position withrespect to the bolt lug 38 and thereby preventbolt movement in the interfering direction. That is to say, if the boltwere to be inthe deadlocked position (shown by the line 28) it couldfnot be moved inwardly to unlock Without proper pre-alignment of thegates with the lug 38, or outwardly tothe deadlocked position withoutpre-alignment of the gates.

The key cylinder 30 has the specially shaped key slot 68 with suitableridges and grooves, and

the key is similarly formed to slideinto such key slot. Within the lockcase 24 the key cylinder has an enlargement 69, and at one side the keyslot reaches-into this enlargement as shown in Figures 2 and 3, forexample. The lever tumblers ride against this enlargement (or slots orgrooves therein), so that as the key is rotated the lever tumblers areat the proper times moved to position the gates into alignment with thelug 38 of the lock bolt, thereby allowing said lug to pass through thegates as `the bolt is projected or drawn back. It may be here noted thatthe tumblers are ,placed above the bolt (that is, close to the coverplate), and are accommodated within a grooved or recessed thicknessportion of the bolt as shown vat 19. It is also noted that the frontedge of the key is formed with suitable notches 1l lto engage the levertumblers in such manner as to properly align the several tumblers forthe gate operation, and at the proper time.

Within the enlarged portion 69 of the key cylinder and communicatingwith the back edge portion of the key slot, are the outwardly extending15, carried by the cover plate 3l of the lock case,

which cover plate is for that purpose provided with a suitable recessdened by the walls 11. This pin tumbler block is provided with the pintumblers 18 and 19 corresponding to the key cylinder pins 12 and 13,respectively, and light springs 80 are provided to urge the pin tumblersoutwardly. It is here noted that when the key cylinder stands in thenormal or key out position, the pins 12 and 13 are intended tosubstantially align with the corresponding pin tumblers 18 and 19, aswill presently appear.

There is a cross-wise extending retaining pin 8l in the enlargement 68and extending between the key cylinder pins 12 and 13, as wel] shown inFigures 1, 4, 5 and 6; and each of the pins 12-13 and 18-19 is providedwith a flattened notch portion 82 which receives the retaining pin aswell shown in Figures 4 and 5. With this arrangement the retaining pinsperform two functions, they prevent the pins 12-13, and 18-19 fromdropping out of their holes, and they also prevent the pins 12-13 and18--19 from rotating on their axes, Both functions are important in thepresent case.

It may be here noted that the number of key cylinder pins (and thenumber of pin tumbler pins corresponding thereto) may be as great or assmall as desired, or there may be but a single one of each, since themultiplication of these -tion of the key cylinder.

pins merely serves'to multiply the difiiculty of unauthorizedlyoperating the lock.

Now it is to be noted that when the key cylinder stands in the normalorY locked position with the key out, the pin tumblers 18 and 19 engagethe enlargement l69 and prevent the key cylinder from beingunauthorizedly turned, as by application of a pair of pliers to theprojecting end por- Heretofore such engagement has been secured by theentering of the pin tumblers 18 and 19 into the holes of thekeyjcylinder pins 12 and 13, and such engagement has of necessityimplied the exact alignment of said pins and holes with each other. Anymisalignment of these parts might be due either to longitudinal shiftingor misplacing of the key cylinder and the pin tumbler block, or tononparallelism of these parts. It is seen that when the pin tumblerblock is carried by the cover plate of the casing as in the presentstructure, with the key cylinder journalled both in the body of thecasing and in the cover plate, there is possibility of such misalignmentoccurring, so that the pins wouldV not properly function,` andconsequently the desired locking of the key cylinder against rotationwould not be ensured when the key was withdrawn from its slot.- In orderto provide against this contingency I have pro- `vided the arrangementswhich I shall now describe:`

Instead of bringing the complete faces of the enlargement 69 and the pintumbler block 15 together,as in the past, I prefer to provide theseparts with companion axially extending slots 83 and 84 respectively, aswell shown in Figure 4, so that axial misalignment of the parts will notprevent entrance of the pin tumblers 18 and 18 into engagement, with theenlargement`69 of the key cylinder, but said pin tumblers may engagesaid slot 83 of the key -cylinder anywhere and still prevent rotation ofthe key cylinder until the `pin tumblers have been forced back intodisengaging position by the key pins 12 and 13 upon insertion of the keyinto its slot. Any amount of such misalignment up to the diameter of apin will not prevent such proper functioning. Furthermore, the properengagement of the key pins with their respective pin tumblers will alsostill occur. These slots 83 and 84 may be made of slightly greater widththan the diameters of the pins so that proper functioning will occureven if the parts are not in exact axial alignment.

Heretofore it has been customary to provide the ends of the key pins andthe pin tumblers with rounded faces formed about the axes of these pins,but it is noted that this arrangement presents the objection that thereis only a single point of contact of each key pin with its pin tumbler.This has caused excessive wear and consequent short life of these partswhereupon they have ceased to function properly. In the present case Iprefer to form the end of each of the pin tumblers and key pins with aflat face, and to form the key end of each of the key pins with a chiselface or a face rounded in the form of a part of a cylinder extendingtransversely of the axis of the key cylinder, as shown in Figures 4 and6, in particular. By this means I provide a line of contact between eachkey pin and the edge of the key when inserted into the key slot, so thatwear will be greatly reduced, and life prolonged.

Now it will be noted that when the key pins have once forced back thepin tumblers by insertion of the key into its slot, the key cylinder maybe turned, and such turning may be continued indefinitely for one ormore turns, Without reengagement of the pin tumblers with the keycylinder, as long as the key is retained within its slot. Thus thepresent form of lock cylinder is well adapted for use in connection withthe herein described form of locking device in which it must be possibleto completely rotate the key cylinder for certain of the Vintendedoperations. This is accomplished without the need of using an encirclingsleeve around the key cylinder as in previous arrangements. In thisconnection it is also noted that such an encircling sleeve could not beused in the present form of device in which I make use of both pintumblers and lever tumblers for various operations.

It is also noted thatV I have placed the tumblers of both forms at thetop side of the lock bolt. This presents advantages in connection withcertain uses of the present arrangement of locking device.

While I have herein shown and described only a single embodiment of thefeatures of my present invention, still I do not intend to limit myselfthereto, except as I may do so in the claims to follow.

I claim:

1. In a lock having a projectable lock bolt, a key cylinder, said keycylinder having a key receiving slot, means to lock the cylinder againstunauthorized turning when no key is present in the key slot, comprisinga pin tumbler slidably mounted adjacent to the key cylinder, springmeans urging the pin tumbler towards the cylinder, and a key pin in thecylinder in position to engage the pin tumbler, there being an openingin the cylinder to receive the projecting end portion of the pin tumblerfor locking purposes, together with means to retain the key pin in placewithin the cylinder comprising a flattened portion of the key pin oflength as great as the necessary lengthwise movement of said pin, and across-wise extending pin in the key cylinder engaging said attenedportion, substantially as described.

2. In a lock having a projectable lock bolt, a key cylinder, said keycylinder having a key receiving slot, means to lock the cylinder againstunauthorized turning when no key is present in the slot, comprising apin tumbler slidably mounted adjacent to the cylinder, spring meansurging the pin tumbler towards the cylinder, and a key pin in thecylinder in position to engage the pin tumbler, there being an openingin the cylinder to receive the projecting end portion of the pin tumblerfor locking purposes, the key engaging end of the key pin being roundedin a cylindrical form transverse to the axis of the key cylinder,together with means to retain the key pin against removal from the keycylinder and to prevent rotation of said key pin on its own axis,comprising a flattened portion of the key pin of length as great as thenecessary endwise movement of said pin, and a cross-wise extendingretaining pin in the key cylinder contacting said attened portion,substantially as described.

3. In a lock having a projectable lock bolt, a key cylinder, said keycylinder having a key receiving slot, means to lock the cylinder againstunauthorized turning when no key is present in the slot, comprising apin tumbler slidably mounted adjacent to the cylinder, spring meansurging the pin tumbler towards the cylinder, and a key pin in thecylinder in position to engage the pin tumbler, there being an openingin the cylinder to receive the projecting end portion of the pin tumblerfor locking purposes, the key cylinder being adapted for rotation for asubstantial angular amount away from the pin locking position withconsequent exposure of the key pin, together with means to retain thekey pin within the key cylinder during such rotation of the keycylinder, comprising means contained within the confines of the keycylinder, substantially as described.

FOLGER ADAM.

